Frans Hals Museum / De Hallen Haarlem (the Netherlands) and Museum M (Leuven, Belgium) are currently developing a research project on the notion of “transhistoricity” (or “cross-historicity”) in curatorial practice within the museum field.

The conference “The transhistorical museum: objects, narratives & temporalities,” is an effort to bring together different perspectives (museological, curatorial, theoretical) on the subject of transhistoricity, in order to critically map this domain. It aspires to both trace its genealogies in existing theory and practice, and to present new ideas with regards to questions like: Can a transhistorical approach to exhibition making or collection display produce relevant new insights into the specific qualities of art objects, by manoeuvring them into unchartered contexts—historically, materially, and ontologically? What can we learn from historical artworks, when we study them through the lens of contemporary artistic production—or vice versa? How do we read art history forward into the present, and use recent practice as a vantage point from which to revise the past?

Over the course of two days (13 November 2015 in Haarlem, and 25 February 2016 in Leuven), we will examine the ways in which curatorial, institutional and artistic practice relate to the notion of transhistoricity, and discuss and challenge museological concepts like “the encyclopaedic museum” and “the Wunderkammer.” The two-day symposium will bring together an international roster of theorists, art historians, curators, and artists, from the fields of art history and philosophy. The symposium will present keynote lectures, case studies, papers and panel discussions. A publication is planned for the fall of 2016.